Industrial Park in Belarus

Industrial park «Great stone» is a
territorial entity with the area of approximately 91,5 sq. km
with a special legal status for the provision of comfortable conditions for
doing business.

Industrial park is situated in
Smolevichy district, Minsk region, in the distance of 25 km from Minsk, the
capital of the country. Advantageous geographic position is stipulated by the
close vicinity to Minsk National Airport and international highway M1 which
extends to Moscow on the north (the distance of 700 km), and to Berlin on the
south (the distance of 1000 km) as well as it has access to Klaipeda seaport in
the Baltic Sea (the distance of 500 km).

According to the master plan, approved
by the Government of the Republic of Belarus in June 2013, production and
living areas, offices and shopping malls, financial and research centers are to
be located at the territory of the Park. Master plan was developed by
Belarusian and Chinese design institutes.

Any company regardless of country of
capital origin can act as a resident of the industrial park.

Realizing intense competition for an
investor in the world market, the state has created a favorable investment
climate for industrial park residents, as guaranteed by the national law,
special international agreements and obligations; has provided unprecedented
benefits and preferences, has formed a separate and independent state
administration body which carries out administrative end-to-end servicing on
the basis of “one stop” service.

According to the special Decree of the
President of the Republic of Belarus as of June 5, 2012 which was updated in 2014 to take into account
the legal regime practices in the Park, residents are granted with the
following preferences:

“10+10”
preferential taxation: exemption from all corporation taxes during the first 10
years since the day of registration as a Park resident and reduction of current
tax rates by 50% during the subsequent 10 years;

regime
of a free customs zone that gives the right to import goods (raw stock,
materials) without payment of customs duties (customs, VAT, excise duties)
subject to further processing and export outside the countries of the Customs
Union;

benefits
for employees of companies operating in the industrial park: rate of personal
income tax is fixed and comprises only 9% that 25% less than in Belarus;

Park
residents, as well as foreign employees are exempt from compulsory insurance
contributions from their wages fund. Mandatory insurance contributions are not
charged from income of Park residents employees with Belarusian citizenship to
a part of income in case such a part exceeds one-time amount of the average
wage in the country;

in
full VAT deduction paid at acquisition of goods (works, services, property
rights) used for design, building and equipping of buildings and facilities in
the Park;

exemption
from the tax on dividend income
accrued for the founders for 5 years from the year of gross income origin of a
Park resident;

permission
to use foreign currency, securities and (or) foreign-currency payment
instruments while settling accounts between the Park residents and residents of
the Republic of Belarus in terms of currency transactions aimed at design and
construction of the Park objects;

exemption
from recovery of agricultural and (or) forestry production losses caused by
withdrawal or permanent use of agricultural land and land under forest in the
Park borders; from compensatory planting and compensation payment for
extraction and transfer of flora resources, compensation payment for negative
impact on fauna resources and (or) its habitat;

other preferences.

When new taxes and fees are established
on the territory of the republic, obligation to pay such taxes and fees for the
Park residents does not arise.

Coming to the Park an investor receives
a ready transport and engineering infrastructure conducted to the selected land
plot. Construction of infrastructure in the Park and its connection with
investor facilities is provided by the management company.

In order to use the best practices on
the territory of the Park, opportunity to design according to technical standards
of foreign countries is provided if they meet the requirements for operational
safety, reliability of the main design decisions, fire and explosive hazardous
facilities.

An investor can get land plots for use
(lease) on the territory of the Park for the period of 99 years or own the
mentioned land plots. Rent and sale of land plots is carried out by the
management company.

The project is developed within the
framework of the China-Belarus intergovernmental cooperation and the relevant
signed intergovernmental agreements. The project is based on the experience of
China and Singapore in creation and development of complex economic zones:
industrial park ”Great stone“ is modeled on the basis of successful project –
China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (PRC).

The Park management model provides for a three level
management structure:

Intergovernmental Coordination Council
(superior body, exercising strategic management, defining bilateral cooperation
policy and functioning on the basis of international treaty);

Administration of Industrial Park
(territorial body in the form of state institution (established by the
Government of the Republic of Belarus) servicing investors on the basis of
”one-stop service“, representing the Park interests in state administrative
bodies and local authorities, acting in accordance with charter);

Management Company (closed joint stock
company, providing design and construction of the Park infrastructure,
organization of municipal services, handling transactions connected to land in
the Park borders, acting in accordance with charter).

Administration of Industrial Park and
Management Company were established in August 2012.

Industrial Park regulatory acts are the
following ones:

Law of the Republic of Belarus as of
January 7, 2012 № 348-З ”On
ratification of Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and
the People’s Republic of China about China-Belarus Industrial Park“;

Edict of the President of the Republic
of Belarus ”On the activity of China-Belarus industrial park ”Industrial park
”Great stone“ as of June 30,2014 № 326;

Resolution of the Council of Ministers
of the Republic of Belarus as of August 16, 2012 № 756 ”On some issues of
China-Belarus Industrial Park“, which validated the regulation on industrial
park and the charter of its administration.

Nowadays design works of the first step
of territory development (about 850 hectares, launching platform – 354
hectares) are being carried out. In the first half of 2015 the construction of the main
transport and engineering infrastructure has started. At the very moment land
plots are being chosen for potential investors for
the purpose of design (“binding to the locality”) of specific objects.

Detailed information, including the regulatory acts, can be found at the
official web-site of Industrial park «Great stone»